1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to residential or commercial storage, or more particularly, to a platform lift apparatus for raising or lowering objects into an upper storage location such as an attic storage space located above a garage or living quarters, between floors in a multi-story dwelling, or from a ground floor to a basement location, in which the apparatus actively controls the vertical movement of the platform to provide stable and safe operation.
2. Description of Related Art
It is often necessary to move objects between two adjacent floors of a building or residential structure. Because most homes lack an elevator or other automated contrivance to carry objects between floors, such tasks are usually performed manually by physically carrying the objects up or down flights of stairs. Not only are these tasks physically demanding, they are also a regular cause of injuries or damage to the objects being carried.
For example, many homes have attic spaces above garages and living quarters, and these attic spaces often provide a storage location for various items. While some attic spaces are finished and have access via a stairwell, most attic spaces remain unfinished and have more rudimentary access systems. The most basic access system is a simple opening or scuttle hole formed in the ceiling dividing the attic space from the room below. The scuttle hole is commonly located in a closet or main hallway, and may include a bottom cover or hatch that comprises a removable portion of ceiling, such as formed from plywood or drywall. A user would position a ladder below the opening and access the storage space by carrying storage objects up and down the ladder. An improvement over this basic access system is a pull-down ladder that is built into a hingedly attached door covering the opening. The pull-down ladder may include a plurality of sections that may be folded together to provide a compact structure when stowed. The user opens the door and unfolds the ladder to bring it into an operational position. This pull-down ladder has improved convenience since the user does not have to transport a ladder to and from the access location, and the ladder is anchored to the opening to thereby provide stability to the ladder and an increased degree of safety for the user.
Nevertheless, a drawback of each of these access systems is that it is difficult to transport objects up and down the ladder. The user cannot easily carry the object and grasp the ladder at the same time, thereby forcing a dangerous tradeoff between carrying capacity and safety. Moreover, the size and weight of the objects that may be transported is limited to that which could be manually carried and fit through the dimensions of the access opening. Users of such access systems have a substantial risk of injury due to falling and/or dropping objects, and the objects themselves can be damaged as well.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide an improved way to transport objects to and from an attic or basement storage space, or between floors of a structure, without the drawbacks and safety risks of the known access systems.